My forces were all regular bar one unit:
2nd Lt +1, 3 x 9 GI's with smg & BAR, 1 x 10 GI's with smg and BAR, 1 x 6 Veteran GI's with TF and 2 BARs, medium mortar with spotter, sniper team, flamethrower team, medium howitzer with spotter, jeep with HMG and M8 greyhound.
The Germans consisted of 2nd Lt + 1 with assault rifles, 2 x5 Ostruppen with rifles, 3 x 7 FJ's with 4 assault rifles, 1 veteran pioneer squad of 7 with 4 smgs and a flammenwerfer, truck, BMW75, sniper team, Nebelwerfer and a Panzer IV.
We rolled for scenario, and I ended up defending a bridge in Hold until Relived, not the best scenario for the defender with only 2 units on excluding forward deployer's from the first wave.
I deployed my large squad of regulars and my artillery covering the the closest building and the road nearest to the bridge. My first wave consisted of the mortar and 3 x regular squads as well as both spotters and the sniper team so they could forward deploy. I had no flanking forces.
The Germans fanned out around the bridge, concentrating heavily on my right with pioneers closest to my edge with sniper in the woods near them. The officer, an FJ squad and both Ostruppen set up by the ford, a second FJ squad in the field directly centre and the third behind the house nearest the bridge. The Nebelwerfer, BMW 75, truck and Pz IV had to stay in reserve.
My observers took position in 2nd floor room and behind a hedge while the sniper set up ready to take the pioneer flamethrower out...
Turn 1
I drew the first dice and my sniper activated, missing the pioneers and promptly getting nailed by his german counterpart. I put the GI's on ambush, along with the artillery should the left FJs enter the white house. The first FJ squad to move was teh one by the ford, triggering my ambush and taking two men down. The other Fjs and one of the Ostruppen squads, as well as the officer all advanced and whittled down my large squad, giving them several pins while one Ostruppen said "Ve not understanda de Jermans" and went down. The FJs behind the house stayed out of sight but advanced up behind the white house. While this was going on, one squad of GIs and the mortar ran and advanced up behind the house to the left of the road, while the other two squads advanced on, the first giving the pioneers a pin and killing one man, while the second gunned down four pioneers, forcing the Germans morale to collapse...
TURN 2
I had kept my artillery on ambush. The GI squad on my right advanced and killed half the sniper team, and my HMG jeep came on and took the second man out. My flag bearing squad near the bridge had failed an order and went down but took heavy fire, from two FJ squads, both Ostruppen (though only one hit), the officer , the BMW and the Panzer IV. The squad lost men in dribs and drabs, but clung on after going down with 8 pins. All my reserves came on bar the flamethrower, the veterans and officer running towards the house to support the GI squad against the lone FJ squad on my left, while the M8 advanced quickly up the road besides the artillery but failed to hit anything. I planned to take them out then swing over to the bridge to assist my right. The last action was the FJs running into the white house, triggering my artillery ambush who rolled a 1...
Turn 3
The first dice out was mine, so I put some HE from teh artillery into the house. The squad had went down, losing two men and taking a single pin. I advanced the M8 up and put a pin on the Pz IV and killing a couple of the FJs closest to the bridge. The sneaky Germans then ran the truck up the centre road, to stop my M8 recce-ing away. But I had the next dice out and as the FJs had gone down, my troops nearby assaulted the truck, successfully getting the 6 required to blow it up. Now I have always played that soft skins are removed, but Dan argued differently and in fairness, I couldnt find anything to say it comes off and I did have hard cover on the bridge, so carried on regardless. Sure enough Dan's cunning plan came to naught as the Pz IV with one pin failed its order. My flag squad got pinned out the game, and my other two squads on the right concentrate on the FJs, ignoring the closing Ostruppen. The Nebelwerfer missed everything, but my mortar hit it, killing 3 but the nebelwerfer stayed cool. The Jeep with HMG missed the Ostruppen, and then promptly died to one of those Belorussians... The flamer thrower runs up behind the house, with the officer running into it.
TURN 4
The first dice came out German, and the remaining FJs in the white house advance out, killing 7 men with concentrated shooting. My GI's flee. Next dice, the artillery remove the FJ's. The M8 activated, putting a pin on the tank and killing an FJ by the bridge, leaving just 2 FJ's. They activated next and moved away, shooting my GIs at the junction. The tank retreated again. Next up the Nebelwerfer passed its order test but misses again. and is taken out by the mortar. The Ostruppend both open up along with the officer and BMW 75, killing GIs, one unit of which fails an order and goes down, the other pins the german officer. Fortunately, the advancing vets kill 80% of an Ostruppen squad, leaving their NCO resolute while the officer runs out teh hosue allowing the flamethrower to occupy it.
Turn 5
The junction to the right of the bridge is where the action is, with more pins than casualties being put out and only the veterans advancing. The tank failed to activate again, and the US Lt advanced onto the bridge. The Ostruppen squad advanced out to point blank my squad in the woods, who took it and advanced on the German officers but only pinned them.
TURN 6
The tank finally passed its test, targetting my officer and the M8 which withdrew to the cover of the bridge. I lost my officers assistant and the tank shell missed. My 4 man squad with 4 pins rolled 5 to assault the German officers, killing one but losing 3 and the combat. The officer and ostruppen point blanked my remaining regular squad, but didn't kill any and the GIs assaulted and wiped out the Ostruppen.
TURN 7
With only the Ostruppen NCO and lone officer left who can contest the bridge, the US veterans advanced across the road and killed the lone Ostruppen NCO. The Pz IV missed again shooting the M8 but did kill a veteran. The M8 opened up on the German officer, who fittingly fought to the end and was the last man left, Panzer IV and BMW crew excluded...
So the US successfully held the bridge and the Hex EB in a hard fought battle that went to the death
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